0
Antarctica
Antarctica is an uninhabited continent dedicated to science and governed by The Antarctic Treaty. As questions about the highest, driest, windiest, iciest, darkest continent on earth.
3,949 Questions
What type of landscape is Antarctica considered?
About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice, which averages at least 1.6 kilometres (1.0 mi) in thickness.
What equipment did James clark ross take to antarctica?
Robert Falcon Scott and his team had very little technology available to them. Basically all they used was a sextant and a compass. He died at the age of 43 on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica in 1912.
Why has tourism in antarctica increased?
- only 50-100 people on board
- largely educational- only real enthusiasts
- tourists get briefed on requirements of Artic treaty
- strict instructions given
- cant go 5m of penguins and wildlife
- only 20 people on one spot at once
- expensive therefore less tourists
What are some plants and animals in the Antarctic desert?
There are no plants or animals that live in Antarctica, except for a few hardy grasses, which can grow in the warmer summer months, especially on the Antarctic peninsula.
For animals that live in the Antarctic regions, see the related question. Note that no animals live on the Antarctic continent.
Who is first man to cross antarctica?
That would depend on your definition of "reach". 1773: Captain James Cook became the first person to cross the Antarctic Circle. 1820: The Antarctic continent was first seen by human eyes. Historians have disagreed on who those eyes belonged to; at least one possible claimant is believed to have seen land but mistaken it for ice at the time. Credit for being the first man to see the continent has been divided between three men who made separate voyages to Antarctica that year: Fabian von Bellingshausen, a captain in the Russian Imperial Navy; Edward Bransfield, a captain in the British navy; Nathaniel Brown Palmer, an American sealer. 1840: Frenchman Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont d'Urville became the first person to set foot on Antarctica. (Some historians believe that John Davis, an American sealer, may have set foot on the Antarctic Peninsula in 1821, but even he was unsure if he landed on the continent itself or a nearby island.)
What is the ocean that is surrounding Antarctica called?
Generally, any ocean -- sea ice -- freezes, it's called sea ice.
What are keystone species in Antarctica?
Antarctic Krill is the keystone species
unlike the last answer animals do live on antarcita, they incule but are not limited to Antarctic petrel (Thalassoica Antarctica), Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), Brown Skua (Stercorarius antarcticus), and the Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazelle).
How do people travel to Antarctica?
Usually plane or sea
In the popular sense, there is no 'travel' on the Antarctic continent.
Tourists travel to the coasts by cruise ship; scientists and those who work in support of science travel by either ship or by military air transport to the individual scientific stations; expeditioners travel to the continent by private, chartered transport.
On the continent, military transport, including Hercules 130s and helicopters are used to move people and supplies between stations and to and from field camps. Work vehicles include trucks, snowcats, Catepillar and Tucker tractors.
Otherwise, people walk in the science stations on foot and are generally restricted to the confines of the stations, because of the danger of falling into a crevasse or being caught outdoors in un-surviveable extreme weather outside its perimeters.
You can go to Antarctica by plane or by ship. The most common way to get there are the cruises trips to Antarctica. There are specialized companies that can make this dream come true. The ships that can reach the White Continent are polar-class icebreakers originally built for scientific research, remodeled to take passengers with all the comfort to this adventure trip. More information about Antarctica cruises: http://www.antartida.com.br.
You can take a ship, or ride a plane.
Is going to antarctica a good idea?
you should only go with an experienced person and if you do go its really cool because you can see penguins, killerwales, ice waves and much more!
Who makes up most of the population of Antarctica?
Scientists and those who work in support of science live there temporarily: there are no permanent residents of Antarctica.
One hundred percent of the population of the Antarctic continent is temporary workers who are supported by their governments to study the health of planet earth. Generally, for each scientist, there are seven workers who support the scientific work.
How do penguins survive in such cold temperatures in Antarctica?
Not all species of penguins live in waters around Antarctica, but those that breed there have a number of adaptations to enable them to survive the icy winds and freezing temperatures.
Penguins have a thick layer of fat underneath the skin which helps to store energy. This thick layer of fat also insulates them. In addition, penguin feathers are specially designed. They are short and have an under-layer of fine woolly down, and easily shed water - a useful characteristic given that penguins spend up to 75% of their time in the water. Penguin feathers are shaped to overlap, enabling not only better streamlining for penguins when they are in the water, but protection from the wind when they are on land.
Penguins have dark feathers on the broad expanse of their backs. These black feathers absorb the heat of the sun, helping to warm up the birds. Penguins have a specially designed circulatory system which can adjust to conserving or releasing heat to maintain a constant temperature. Many species of penguins huddle together for warmth, and the eggs are incubated on the penguins' feet, where they get constant warmth.
Penguins are sea birds and make their homes in the seas.
They visit Antarctica's beaches to breed, because there are no land predators there. When a penguin wants to warm up, the animal simply returns to the warmer sea water. Sea water is liquid and always warmer than the ambient air on the continent.
How do fish in antarctica not freeze?
Antarctica is melting, but it is like a giant mirror. The sun shines on Antarctica and it reflects back out to space. It is also extremely cold (the record is: −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) at Vostok Station), so it's difficult to see the changes. Global warming is causing more precipitation there, which is falling as snow. This is building up in the centre of the continent. Warmer waters are causing more ice shelves to split from the coasts, so the overall result is less ice.
Why is Antarctica in total darkness?
The phenomenon you describe is only true at the South Pole. The sun sets on about March 21 and rises again about September 21.
There is plenty of light from stars and from the moon, but there is no sunlight for those six months.
Parts of the Antarctic Peninsula only experience a few days or weeks of no sunrise/ sunset. Again, there is plenty of light otherwise.
What are the dangers to Antarctica?
The greatest danger to all animals there, including humans, is death by freezing. Frostbite is also a danger, but one can recover from frostbite.
Because it is an extreme geography, much like wilderness anywhere, becoming lost and disoriented is possible. Once separated from any survival resources, death by freezing is certain.
Is the Antarctic the same as South Pole?
Antarctica is the name of a continent. Antarctic is the name used to describe something indigenous to the area, for example, the region around Antarctica, the Antarctic region. Antarctic is an adjective; Antarctica is a noun.
What type of music do they listen in Antarctica?
People who work and live there temporarily listen to whatever music they've brought with them, or to whatever music the station-specific radio stations play for their listeners.
What activities are in Antarctica at summer?
Summer in Antarctica is considered high season, given that there is access to and from the continent. This means that the scientists and people who work in support of science can access study areas, establish field camps and pursue collecting data to answer their questions about the health of planet Earth.
What nationalities go to antarctica?
Answer 1:
Not many people go to Antarctica. Mostly only scientists go to Antarctica - and for only one reason - to study.
Answer 2:
Tourism to Antarctica is a surprisingly lucrative industry. There are many people who pay to fly over or cruise to Antarctica. There is no accommodation for them, but they simply want to glimpse the pure, majestic beauty of the region.
Why are climatologists interested in Antarctica?
Ice freezes material within itself when it freezes, that includes gases and trace elements. Scientists can slice ice cores into extremely thin slices and then determine the composition of the atmosphere at the time the ice layer froze.
What jobs do people do in antarctica?
People who live and work in Antarctica -- thanks to their government that signed the Antarctic Treaty -- work in science or support of science. For every grantee -- the scientist with a research question -- there are about seven other people who work to support the research.
Jobs include mechanics, carpenters, lab techs, information systems support, drivers, cooks, cleaners and so forth: all the jobs required to support people who work.
Why is Antarctica not heavily populated?
antartica is a Icy wasteland that has only (reletivley) recently been discovered. besides that, It is an Icy Barren wasteland that is impossible to grow food on. anyway, it's cold. nobody even wants to live there.
Because it's covered in ice, has virtually no life and cannot support humans.
Why isn't there a permanet human population in Antarctica?
Humans who live and work on Antarctica only do so temporarily, and are in service of their country and its scientists answering questions about the health of planet earth.
There are no native peoples or permanent human occupants of the continent.
